Favorite Books of 2012

I am loving reading all the Best Book lists in the blogosphere and have already added several titles to my "To-Read" list on Goodreads. I did not make a list of books I read this past year, so I don't even remember some of them (sadly...this is what mommy brain has done to me). But here are a few standouts from 2012 for me. And note many of these were just new to me in 2012, but have been on the market for several years.

Best All Around - Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. This is one of those books you read and think, "How can this be possible?" and you're talking about both the subject matter and the unbelievable writing. I finished this book in Panera with tears streaming down my face. If you haven't read it, I won't spoil it, but it should be on the top of your list for 2013. It's that good.

Fiction - The Book of the Dun Cow
by Walt Wangerin. My dad gave us this book last Christmas and Erik and I both read it. It's one of those books you want to fit into a neat allegory, but it's not that easy and it's not meant to be. It's beautifully written and tells a powerful story.

Favorite Book I Read With My Kids - This is a two-way tie between The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Little Pilgrim's Progress: From John Bunyan's Classic by Helen Taylor. I have to admit I had never read all of any of the Narnia books, and this was the first of three we read this year. And I also have to admit we only made it a little over halfway through Little Pilgrim's Progress. Sophie was so excited when Christian made it to the Celestial City and she just didn't have the heart to go through the journey all over again with Christiana, and frankly neither did I.

Favorite Book on Writing - Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life by Douglas Wilson. Short, helpful and full of wit, this book made me want to be a better writer just by reading it. Hopefully it also made me a better writer.